


One Earnest Answer

by Herk



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Gen, Methos' History, Watcher history, flashback time, story time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 11:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9723725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herk/pseuds/Herk
Summary: Methos has a very special birthday present for his Watcher friend.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ohh a Methos non-crossover story \o/
> 
> Thanks as always to Dimar for having her eagle eyes catching my mistakes.

“Just one question?” The old mortal tried bargaining immediately of course.

 

“Oh Joseph - I think we both know one question, truthfully answered is the most generous birthday present you’ve ever been offered. If you want more… all you have to do is survive one year and maybe I’ll feel generous again.” Methos hid his smile behind the neck of a bottle as he took a deep swig of beer.

 

Joe had a certain twinkle in his eye. “Well considering my age that means I can look forward to two to three dozen answers if nothing unforeseeable happens.”

 

“As always the optimist, I think that’s one of the things I like about you, Joe.”

 

“And the fact that I keep the beer flowing without ever collecting on the tab.”

 

“That too,” Methos agreed good-naturedly.

 

“So one question…”

 

“Do you need time to think about it?”

 

“Nah - I keep the fretting over priorities for next year. This year it’s this: How did you learn about the Watchers?”

*

 

It had been a couple of decades since Methos had left the Horsemen. Leaving his brothers, especially Kronos, hadn’t been easy but the longer he stayed away, the surer he grew that it was the right decision. Power over others was one thing but true freedom, power over oneself, was another thing entirely. As much as he missed their company from time to time, Methos truly reveled in the ability to follow his own whims and interests, discovering new aspects of himself and the humanity around him. He’d always enjoyed books and learning and now he had the ability to seek out learned men and discuss with them freely not hindered by the impending threat of pain and death for one of them. Yes, all in all, Methos was still satisfied with his decision, even if Kronos would probably try to take his head if they ever met again.

 

Sitting in a small tavern in Eridu, Methos saw all the signs of the decline of a civilisation. Once this had been a mighty place, a centre for culture; nowadays it wasn’t more than a medium sized settling in a region that had long since gone out of fashion. He doubted that the once mighty city would survive another century as anything but a part of the local legends. Yet there were still some people who remembered Sumeria at its highest glory, people who saw Eridu as something special, one of the birthplaces of script and a new way of learning. And not all of them were Immortals.

 

Enkidu was a middle aged man who had just entered his third decade, and while he did miss the agility of his boyhood years, he was far more interested in studying the old legends than chasing after elusive prey such as young women or wild goats. Over the last decade Enkidu had travelled a good deal and met a lot of like-minded scholars. He was a member of three different secret brotherhoods, all dedicated to different fields of study and all only vaguely aware of each other’s existence. In a way it amused him to feed rumours about one group to the other and let them fret over the trustworthiness of his sources. These scholarly pranks took over the place of the wilder amusements of his youth and they reminded him to always keep a healthy dose of skepticism when studying the recounts and deductions of other learned men. He was just contemplating whether he should order another beer or not when the commotion broke out.

 

Methos was just minding his own business. He had no interest in a fight tonight. The burly man with the terribly unkempt beard had mistaken Methos for an easy victim though and he wasn’t in the habit of letting some mortal fool push him around.

 

“Look at this lukewarm boy. He can’t even grow a proper beard and he’s probably afraid of his own shadow.” The man grabbed Methos’ mug obviously planning to either drink the content himself or pour it out. He showed a smug grin right up to the point where Methos’ hand shot forward and grabbed his wrist in an iron grip.

 

“You should never mistake the knowledge of how to use a shaving razor for weakness.” His voice was deceptively calm. He might have left the Horsemen but he hadn’t forgotten anything.

 

A moment later the small table lay knocked over and the drunk, burly idiot had a crude knife drawn. Methos pulled out his own short blade as the circle around them widened. The fight was short but ugly. The brute even managed to cut him once before Methos sliced him down. It wasn’t exactly the way he’d planned this evening but everyone in the tavern had seen that Methos wasn’t the first to draw his weapon nor had he been the original aggressor. So at least he expected no further trouble.

 

Enkidu didn’t exactly like violence but as long as he wasn’t directly involved, he was fascinated by it. Watching the fight he spotted something he hadn’t really expected. The survivor had been wounded and although the wound wasn’t exactly serious, it shouldn’t have closed by the time the fight was over. Enkidu was acutely aware of the amulet under his shirt, a constant reminder of one of his secret societies. A slight smile stole its way onto his features.

 

“It seems that you lost your beer in an unfortunate accident. Please allow me to buy you a replacement.”

 

Methos studied the man before him. Not quite young anymore, the dark hair was still full and strong, without any traces of grey that would show the beginning of age. He looked well travelled in his simple robes and with his dark, weathered skin. The brown eyes were clear and awake and obviously held a keen intelligence. The mortal held himself upright, not cowed by his recent display of violence. The slight smile playing around his lips showed off a couple of dimples and laughter lines that made the otherwise bland face interesting. Methos smiled, knowing fully well that right now it would make him look more predatory than anything. This might not have been a duel with another Immortal. But even without a Quickening the adrenaline produced by the violence alone was more than enough to get Methos in the mood for some less lethal exercise. And the mortal’s attitude made him rather attractive.

 

Methos did accept the invitation.

*

 

“One thing lead to another. Enkidu was at least as excited as me by the whole fight and we enjoyed burning some energy together later.”

 

“As much as I enjoy your storytelling, old man, I’m not that interested in your ancient one night stands.”

 

Methos smiled smugly. “Who said anything about one night? Enkidu and I stayed together for a few years.”

 

“And when are the Watchers entering the picture?” Joe refused to raise to the bait.

 

“They already did. Please try to keep up, Joseph. Enkidu faithfully wore an earthen amulet with an intricate design. When I first asked him about it, he told me we didn’t know each other well enough for him to share that secret. It took him three years to finally come clear. I can’t say that I was amused. Having your lover spy on you isn’t exactly a turn on.”

 

Joe’s eyes widened. “That’s tough. I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. He came clear and in the end I used him more than the other way ‘round. It took me a few centuries to hunt down his original journals and all existing copies. That was a bit of a pain, but in the process I learned more about you guys than anyone, so it was probably worth it.”

 

“So to sum it up: you seduced a Watcher and you are Gilgamesh.”

 

Methos laughed. “I seduced my fair share of Watchers. It is the easiest way to get them to cooperate. Enkidu just was the first, and it was a rather common name back then. People always loved to name their children after celebrities. But I do like your interpretation. I might adopt it for the future.”


End file.
